Kitty Clive is believed to have been born in the north of Ireland. While still very young she separated from her husband, Richard Clive, who was a barrister, and became an actress. She was admired by Handel, and Dr Johnson said of her, 'Clive, Sir, is a good thing to sit by; she always understands what you say'. She was continually mentioned by contemporaries such as Garrick, who played opposite her in her last performance. In her retirement to Strawberry Hill, where she became a close friend and neighbour of Horace Walpole, she remained a focus for public attention. She wrote several pieces for the theatre, of which The Rehearsal was the only one printed. [Biography by Percy Fitzgerald (1888)]

Born:	5 November 1711
Died:	6 December 1785